The Principal Secretary has the responsibility of running the Department on a day-to-day basis executing the priorities of the government of the day. The Principal Secretary is responsible for directing and coordinating the activities of the Department, performing the policy setting role while the functional Heads of Divisions are responsible for executing the technical aspects of the Department’s functions.

The key roles of a Principal Secretary, in addition to providing policy advice to the Minister, implementing the government’s agenda, and seeing to the overall management of the organisation, is to build trust among employees, enhance staff morale, train and develop staff and manage burnout in the face of limited human resources. The Principal Secretary works to ensure that there are effective linkages among and within the sections and units in the Department by strengthening internal systems to improve coordination and communication for the effective performance of the organisation. In addition, the Principal Secretary works in partnership across departments and sectors; being responsive to citizens and organising public services around citizen priorities with regards to the youth and sports portfolio.

As a member of the Public Service top management team who shares a collective responsibility for the management of the Public Service as a whole, the Principal Secretary also participates actively in the Chief Executives Forum.

Principal Secretary for Youth and Sports Mr. Ralph Jean Louis